North Carolina has a mandatory reporting law (N.C.G.S. 7B-301) that states that any person who suspects that a child has been abused, neglected, or dependent shall report that to the Department of Social Services. This law covers children under the age of 18, who are not married, emancipated, or in the armed services.

During normal working hours, 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Monday – Friday, you may make a report by calling the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Social Services at 252-475-5500 and tell the receptionist that you would like to make a CPS report.  After 5:00 pm nights, weekends, and holidays, please call Dare Central Communications at 252-473-3444 and tell the dispatcher that you would like to make a CPS report. If it is an emergency, please call 911.

Provide as much of the following information as possible when calling in a report of suspected child abuse or neglect:

• Name of child who is the alleged victim

• Age of the child

• Home address or address where the child can be reached

• Parent’s names, telephone numbers, and addresses, if known

• Type of suspected abuse

• Alleged perpetrator, if known

• Specific physical and behavioral indicators of maltreatment

While reports may remain anonymous, knowing the name and phone number of the reporter allows Child Protective Services to obtain additional information.  If necessary, the social worker taking the information for the report will ask for as many details about the maltreatment as the reporter is able to provide.

DO NOT use email to report suspected incidents of child abuse or neglect.  It causes delays and confidentiality may not be ensured.

Reports are assigned to either a family assessment response or an investigative assessment response.  The response to a report may be immediate, 24 hours, or 72 hours.  If the allegations include abuse, written notification must be made to the District Attorney and law enforcement to coordinate the investigative process.

The goal of the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services – Division of Social Services is to partner with the family and complete assessment as quickly as possible without Court intervention unless your child cannot be protected. It is important to us that all different types of families are respected and that there is a broad range of lifestyles and parenting practices that provide safety and minimally sufficient care for children in our community.

The assessment shall include a visit to the place where the juvenile resides. An assessment means that a social worker looks at the environmental, medical, physical, mental health, educational and emotional needs that keep children safe.

Other people with helpful information may be contacted for their input. Family input, resources and safety planning are very important in keeping children safe. Your cooperation and consent for the social worker to come into your home for the investigation helps this process. It is our goal to keep children safe and families together whenever possible. For more information see the In Home Services page.

The Safety Assessment is completed when the social worker first makes contact with the family. This form outlines safety issues and a plan to keep children safe during the assessment. Sometimes there are no safety factors that make it necessary to develop a safety response. If needed, the social worker will discuss with you any safety factors present and ask for your input in making a plan that is specific and detailed.

There may be family members or other supportive people who can help be part of safety planning for your child. You have the opportunity to include your comments and your participation is important in developing this plan.

We believe that most families are capable of finding solutions that can preserve their family while making child safety a priority. It is our job to work with families and their supports to achieve these solutions.

Who is a safety resource?  Can I place my children with a relative or other caregiver?

When the risk to your child is high and other means to protect are not reasonable, the social worker may ask you to make a plan with a safety resource, an appropriate relative or very close family member, to avoid your child from coming into custody. For this reason, the social worker always asks about relatives or friends who could provide care for your child. State policy requires that a kinship assessment be completed in these cases, as well as a criminal background and child abuse/neglect check.

These placements can help avoid a child coming into the department's custody and give the parents an opportunity to address any safety issues needed to return the child home. These placements are intended to be short-term and can occur during the assessment process or while the social worker is providing services after an assessment.

A case decision is made at the end of the assessment. A decision of Services Not Recommended, Services Recommended, Services Provided or In Need of Services is made for family assessments and a decision of Unsubstantiation or Substantiation is made for investigative assessments.

A case decision of substantiation or in need of services means that there are safety and risk factors that could result in children being removed from the home without services to protect the child.

There are some cases where risk to children is high and no safety planning or services can reasonably protect them. In these cases, the agency may file a petition with Juvenile Court alleging abuse, neglect or dependency or ask the Court to protect the child by removal from the home.

Bringing a child into foster care is used only as a last resort to protect children from serious harm. Reasonable efforts to keep children safely at home are first attempted, along with relative or kin placement if needed. We believe that children have the right to safety, basic care and to remain with their families whenever possible.

Within seven days of the decision to substantiate or find in need of services, the Assessment social worker and an In-Home Services social worker will contact you to discuss the case decision and introduce the new worker.

This In Home Services social worker will have face-to face contact with you and your family regularly, as well as contact with others involved, i.e., therapists, doctors, other family members, to assure progress toward the treatment goals is continuing. The focus of an In-Home Services worker's efforts is to always ensure protection of the involved children and the preservation of the family.

If you actively participate and change the behaviors which posed risk to your child(ren), the family In-Home social worker will close your case. However, if the risk factors are not reduced or you refuse to cooperate, a Child and Family Team will be called to discuss options that may include filing a petition with juvenile court to ask a judge to order that certain things be completed to assure child safety. This does not always mean that children are removed from the home.

In a very small number of cases, the child(ren) may be placed out of the home, either voluntarily or by the Department's petitioning of the Court. We want children to remain with their families and that will be the focus of our work together.

• Allow the In-Home Services social worker to come to your home.

• Keep all scheduled appointments.

• Discuss any concerns you may have reasonably and calmly.

• Work with the In-Home Services worker to develop the plan for your family.

• Understand that the In-Home Services social worker will be working with you to preserve your family and strengthen it as a unit.